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You need a good information model to carry out effective impact analysis. A software impact analysis report usually covers just the requirements for the relevant part of the code and the test used to verify the code. In a model-based paradigm, however, the effect of a change at the software level can be much greater. A small change at the code level can impact many requirements and model elements, traversing all the way up the requirement and model hierarchy. Therefore, the information model should be consistently applied across all the... [More]

The recent Invisible Thread blog on ‘ The Mars Climate Orbiter: what, why, and lessons learned ’ made me wonder if we have lost the art of good requirements engineering? Both teams went off to work on their boxes, without worrying too much what was in the other box. New approaches to development, such as the use of User Stories in Extreme Programming and Agile, or more model based approaches such as Model Driven Software Engineering and the use of SysML for... [More]

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Douglas Adams , author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . The need for speed in the development lifecycle of a product is no longer just desired; it is essential for organizations to remain competitive. While this approach breeds innovation, it also breeds terror of upcoming deadlines. When I first started working in the telecommunications industry in the early 1990s, the average lead time for a complex project was around 36... [More]

Curiosity: The Next Mars Rover (artist's concept) Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech For all the technological advances of the space age, including the landing missions to Mars, we still haven't answered one of our very oldest questions about the solar system: Is there, or was there ever, life on the Red Planet? On August 6, 2012, the Mars Curiosity rover made its way to the surface of the planet to get closer to an answer, with its mission to explore the possibility that microbial life was or is still present in the upper layers of the Martian crust.... [More]

Requirements management What's next for the first, crucial step in successful product development We’ve written many times here about the changing nature of the products and systems that we use in our personal and business lives. The increase in software is the invisible thread that is guiding product innovation and connecting a planet of "intelligent" things. We’ve also talked about the increasing complexity of such products and the challenges that multidisciplinary engineering teams (software, electronic,... [More]

In what ways is medical device development similar to other product development? If you are in a product development role, you will be very aware of the sorts of challenges you face, including: Increased competition Need to sell into global markets Need to shorten development time and time to market The Rational Solution for Systems and Software Engineering has been produced to help companies to meet these challenges. In this post, I am going to briefly discuss the solution for medical device development that is being built as an extension. In... [More]